Automatic train-arresting device.



PATENTED OUT. 18, 1904..

N. YOUNG.

AUTOMATIG'TRAIN ARRESTING DEVICE.

APPLIOATION FILED APR. 30, 1904.

N0 MODEL.

air-brake system.

Patented October 18, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT O FICE.

NORMAN YOUNG, OFGRAND ENGAMPME N T, "YOMING.

AUTOMATIC TRAlN-ARRESTING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 772,4;89, dated October 18, 1904. I

Application filed April 30, 1904. Serial No. 205,751. 'tNo model.)

To It 1072 0711, itmcty concern:

Be it known that I, NORMAN YOUNG, a citixen of the United States, residing at Grand aspeciiieation. l

The obyectof my invention is to prevent eoliisions on railroad-tracks. This is done bycausing each train as it advances to set'mecl-ianism which will automatically apply. brakes to other trains coming dangerously near either in front or behind it.

in carrying out my invention I provide each railroad-track with a series of horizontallyarranged rods eachot' which has a crank adapted to engage an arm depending from a train from its normal to its shifted position, and each rod is provided with another arm which is adapted to engage a lever depending from valve mechanism on a train and which controls the escape of air from the pipes of the The val ve-operating arms are arranged alternately on opposite sidesof the track, and the rods having arms on one side of the track are connected with rods having valve-operating arms on the opposite side of the track ina novel manner, which is such that when one rod is set by a passing train a valve-operating arm at asuitable distance in advance is set on the opposite side of the track to prevent head-on? collisions, while the valve-operating arm just set is left in this position to prevent rear-end collisions. The arrangement is also such that the crankrods are automatically returned ,to their normal positions after the train has passed a suitable distancet'rom them.

I In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is.

a diagram showing a railroad-track with my" immovements applied. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the connections betweeil the various crank-rods. Fig. 3 is a detailview of the crank-rod-operating arm carried by the train.

Fig. 4is another view of the same device.

Fig. 5 is a detail view of one of the valves in an air-brake pipe and thedevices for opening and closing this valve. Fig. (3 is a diagram showing how my improvements are applied to a railroad-track having a siding or switch.

In Fig. 1 I have shown a railnoad-track divided up into a-serles of sections, each of which may be, say,'one-quarter of a mile in length. .In each section is arranged a hori- Zontal rod B or B, which is mounted to rock in suitable bearings. Each rod has a crank arm 7/, and each rod is also provided with a. valve-operating arm 0, the valve operating arms /ein'garranged alternately on opposite sides of the'track',the arms on the rods B being shown as arranged on the right-hand side of the track, while the arms on the rods B are arranged on the left-hand side of the 5 track, the arrow in Fig. 1 indicating the direetion in which the train is moving.

Each rod B is provided witha lug e, which is connected by wire or cable D with an arm a on a distant rod B, which carries an arm Q 7 on the oppositeside of the track. As shown in the drawings, each rod B is connected by a Wire 1) with a rod B; arranged immediately in advance of the next rod B in the series. In Fig. l I have shown four rods and have shown how each set of rods is connected. All

the others on the track are connected in a similar way.' Preferably a yielding connection F is provided between the wire D and the arm 0, and a turnbuckle maybe located at G I to tighten the wire or cable. Each locomo- 'tive is provided with acrank-operating arm H, which is pivoted to.- a supporting-casting H and the movement of which in opposite directions is limited by stops It. A spring H 8 5 is arranged, in the casting and bears on the arm. This arm H is adapted to engage with the cranks b, and when itdoes so it depresses the cranks and turns therods 'B B'-. The arm H is always located on the right-hand side of 9 the engine, and on the same side of the engine a lever J v is provided, which is adapted to engage the valve-operating armsC. The

lever J is pivoted to a suitablesupport J, and its movement in one direction is limited by a stop against which the arm is pressed 1 by a spring K. The support J is connected with a valve L in a pipe M, forming part of the train-pipe system of the air-brakes.

In Fig. 5, the ualve is supposed to be closed; Too

but if the lever J is swung to the left the opening in the valve will be brought in line with the pipe, so that air may escape from the airpipe system, and thus the brakes will. be applied. The valve is provided with a spring N,

which automatically returns it to its closed position; but in order that it may return slowly I provide a dash-pot O of well-known construction, which retards the closing of'the valve, allowing. it to remain open sufficiently long to apply the. brakes. The spring K alsection No. 1 turns it correspondingly turns a rod B in section N o. 4: in advance of it, this rod being the next in the series in advance of the next rod 13, which is located at section No. 3. If the rod B in section No. 2 is raised or has the arm Cin the elevated position shownin Fig. 1,

I the arm-H will depress the arm C. As soon as the locomotive arrives at section N0. 3 it will turn the rod B, so as to elevate the valve-operating arm 0. At this time the valve-operating arm (J in section No. 1 is still elevated, and when the arm C in section No. 3 is elevated it will elevate an arm C on the opposite side of the track a suitable distance in advance of section No. 3namely, in what would be section No. 6. When the train arrives atsection No. 4, the crank Z) being in an elevated position will be engaged by the arm H and will be depressed to the position shown by full lines, throwing the valve-operating arm C in section No. 4 out of operation and at the same time throwing the valve-operating arm C in section No. 1 out of operation, the train at this time being protected at sections Nos. 2 and 3 in the rearand at other sections in advance.

. It will be observed that the crank-rods are so disposed that when the cranks in the rods B are depressed the cranks in the rods B are elevated, and'vice versa.

, In Fig. 6 I have shown how the main line may be cleared w'hen'a train passes into a siding -01 switch. Of course when the train leaves the track it will be desirable to clear the line so that the brakes need not be applied on passing trains. To accomplish this, 1 provlde a crank-rod P on the switch or siding and connect it by wires R S T with the rods 13 B on-the main track, the arrangement being such that as thetram passes over the rod I it turns vit and causes the wires R S T to be pulled in such manneras to turn the rods B B on the main track to their normal position, so that the train may pass without having the brakes applied.

If it be desired to protect trains running in either direction, the system of rods B B and their appliances and connections may be duplicated i n which case the cranks would be ar ,crank-rod having a valve-operating arm on one side of the track being connected with a crank rod having a valve-operating arm on the opposite side of the track arranged immediately beyond the next crank-rod having an arm on the same side as that first mentioned.

2. The combination with a railroiul-trark, of a series of crank-rods having cranks and valve-operating arms arranged on opposite sides of the track, connections between crankrods having valve-operating arms on one side of the track and crank-rods having valve-opcrating arms on the opposite side oi the track, a spring-controlled arm depending from a locomotive adapted to engage the cranks and a valve-operating lever depending from the airbrake pipes of a train and adapted to engage the valve-operating arms of the crank-rods, a spring for closing the valve in the air-pipe and a dash-pot for retarding the closing of the valve.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two suh-' scribing witnesses.

NORMAN YOUNG. \Vitnesses:

C. J. SMITH, Aon THRAPP. 

